Adapter top for glass decanters

ABSTRACT

A ONE-PIECE ADAPTER TOP FOR FACILITATING THE POURING AND HOLDING OF A GLASS DECANTER IS PERMANENTLY SECURED TO AN UNDULATED NECK PORTION OF THE DECANTER BY MEANS OF A PRESS-ON COMPRESSION FIT PROVIDED BY A DEFORMABLE ELASTIC GASKET POSITIONED BETWEEN A PORTION OF THE ADAPTER AND SAID NECK PORTION.

A. P. FlORlNI ADAPTER TOP FOR GLASS DECANTERS Filed April 1, 1969 INVEN'I'UR. Albert P. F iorini A T TORNE Y United States Patent Office Patented Oct. 26, 1971 3,615,045 ADAPTER TOP FOR GLASS DECANTERS Albert P. Fiorini, Big Flats, N.Y., assignor to Corning Glass Works, Corning, NY. Filed Apr. 1, 1969, Ser. No. 811,767 Int. Cl. B65d 25/40; B67c 9/00 U.S. Cl. 222542 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Most food-ser ving establishments, such as restaurants, utilize glass beverage decanters for serving hot coffee, not only because the level and nature of the contents can be readily seen, but also because glass is well recognized as a particularly sanitary material. However, when the pouring spout of such decanters is also made of glass, there is a high incidence of breakage due to the spout striking against other objects during normal usage. Therefore, it is customary to provide such glass beverage containers with a durable pouring spout made of stainless steel or plastic, which is attached to the neck of the glass container by means of a sealing gasket and clamping band. The clamping band usually secures a suitable handle as well as the adapter top to the decanter. While this conventional construction, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,885,949, has been found to be generally satisfactory in service, it has the disadvantages of being unduly complicated and expensive, as well as being awkward and time consuming to assemble.

Rubber-like gasket material has been used in the past to prevent abrasion and facilitate a snug fit when applying metallic band members to a glass vessel. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,629 and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,265,615, resilient gasket members have also been utilized in coffee maker constructions to efifect a temporary seal between members which may be inserted within one another during the coffee-making or senving operation. Unlike the prior art devices which merely utilize gaskets to provide temporary seals or abrasion resistance when banding, the present invention incorporates a unique concept of providing a permanently secured one-piece adapter top which is easily assembled on a glass vessel by means of a presson compression fit provided by resilient gasket material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved onepiece adapter top which is easily permanently assembled upon the neck portion of a glass decanter. The adapter top not only enhances the aesthetic value of the decanter but also protects the neck portion from impact damage and provides a lip for facilitating the pouring of the contents from the decanter. If desired, the one-piece adapter top may be provided with an integrally formed handle portion.

In order to facilitate the permanent attachment of the adapter top to the decanter, the neck portion of the decanter is preferably provided with an undulated outer surface having a plurality of recessed portions. A preformed gasket of resilient material, having an inner surface formed with ridge portions which complement the recessed portions on the neck of the decanter, is snugly positioned about the outer surface of the neck portion. The one-piece adapter top, having a collar with knurled inner surface portions, is forced over the outer surface of the gasket to compressibly displace the same and thereby securely lock and permanently retain the adapter top thereon.

It thus can be seen that the present invention provides an improved one-piece adapter top which obviates the problems encountered in the prior art, by not only eliminating numerous parts and accordingly a complex timeconsuming assembly, but also by providing an easily applied attachment means which permanently secures the adapter top to the neck portion of the glass decanter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a glass decanter having a one-piece adapter top embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmental elevational view in section illustrating the attachment means for the adapter top shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental View of an expanded inner surface of the adapter top showing knurled portions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, adapter top assemblies embodying the present invention are shown permanently secured to a glass vessel. As shown in FIG. 1, a one-piece adapter top 1 having a handle 2 integrally formed therewith is permanently secured as a unit to a glass vessel 3 such as a carafe, decanter, or coffee server.

In a like manner, an adapter top 10 of similar construction but Without a handle, may be provided on the glass vessel 3 as shown in FIG. 2. The adapter top has a lower continuous cylindrical collar portion 12 and an outwardly flaring upper rim portion 14 providing a pouring lip 16. A flange portion 1'8 extends inwardly from the inner surface of the adapter top between the lower cylindrical portion 12 and the upper rim portion 14. As greatly exaggerated in FIG. 2, and as more clearly shown in FIG. 3, the inner surface of the cylindrical collar portion 12 is provided with knurled portions 20 to provide positive gripping as set forth hereinafter.

The glass vessel or decanter 3 is shown having an undulated neck portion 22 providing a plurality of recessed or groove portions 24 in its outer surface. The upper edge of the neck portion 22 terminates in an outwardly extending edge bead 26, and the lower end of the neck portion 22 forms a shoulder 28 with the glass decanter 3.

A preformed gasket 30 of resilient material is positioned intermediate the outer surface of the neck portion 22 and the inner surface of the collar portion 12 of the adapter top. The inner surface of a gasket 30 is preformed with an undulated inner surface 32 having a plurality of ridge portions 34 which complement the recessed portions 24 of neck 22. An annular positioning groove 36 is provided in the inner surface of the gasket 30 adjacent its upper end to complementarily receive and be positioned by the edge head 26 of neck portion 22. The upper extent of the gasket 30 is provided with a flange portion 38 which extends between and radially inwardly of the flange portion 18 of the adapter top and edge head 26 of the neck portion.

The one-piece adapter top is preferably formed from plastic material such as polypropylene, although suitable metals may be utilized if desired. The gasket 30 is formed of any resilient material such as natural rubber, silicone rubber, or neoprene. The inner diameter of the gasket 30 is formed slightly less than the outer diameter of the neck 22, so that when the gasket is forced over the neck portion it will be expanded outwardly, thus providing an inward 3 compressive force against the neck portion due to its elasticity. The gasket is usually Wetted in order to facilitate its positionment upon the neck portion.

As shown, the lower end of the gasket abuts the shoulder portion 28, whereas the upper flange portion 38 is retained in overlying position above bead 26 by means of annular groove 38 positionably retaining edge bead 26. In addition, the interfitting complementary relationship between ridge portions 34 and groove portions 24 function to securely retain the gasket 30 in position upon neck portion 22.

The thickness of the gasket 30 is controlled with respect to the internal diameter of the cylindrical collar portion 12 of the adapter top so that such internal diameter is slightly less than the outside diameter of the expanded gasket. Accordingly, when the wetted collar portion of the adapter top is forced over the gasket, the gasket being generally incompressible is deformed between the inner surface of the collar portion and the outer surface of the neck portion, and tends to fiow outwardly along flange portion 38. A compression fit is obtained between the gasket 30 and the adapter top, due to the force exerted by the elastic material attempting to overcome the elastic deformation. Further, the knurled portions 20 securely grasp the outer surface of the gasket 30 to prevent any material slippage therebetween. As noted, the lower edge of the collar portion 12 rests upon the shoulder portion 28 of the vessel 3, whereas the flange portion 38 is interposed between the upper bead edge 26 of the neck portion and the abutment flange 18 of the adapter top.

It thus can be seen that the present invention provides a novel one-piece adapter top construction which is not only easily assembled upon a glass container, but also is permanently attached thereto. Accordingly, the invention eliminates the need for sundry parts customarily utilized in an adapter top assembly such as neck bands, clamps, screws, and individual handles, together with the complex assembly previously required. Although the now preferred embodiments have been disclosed, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A press-on adapter top assembly permanently secured to a neck portion of a glass vessel which comprises, a glass vessel having a neck portion provided with recessed portions in its outer surface, a one-piece adapter top positioned on said container and surrounding the outer surface of said neck portion, resilient gasket means for permanently securing said adapter top to said neck portion solely throughcompressive and frictional forces generated through the press-on application of said adapter top, said gasket means being positioned between said adapter top and said neck portion in compressive engagement with the outer surface of said neck portion, said gasket means having a plurality of ridge portions projecting inwardly from an intner surface thereof and complementarily received within said recessed portions formed in the outer surface of said neck portion, said adapter top having an upper pouring rim portion and a lower continuous cylindrical collar portion, said lower cylindrical collar portion compressibly encompassing outer surface portions of said gasket means along the extent of said collar portion to deform said gasket means between said collar portion and said neck portion and provide a compression fit therebetween for permanently mounting the adapter top on said container, and means formed integrally with an inner surface of said collar portion for securely grasping an outer surface of said gasket means and retaining said adapter top thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,516,580 6/1970 Hester 222-465 3,330,449 7/1967 Bloomfield et al. 222-570 X 3,114,484 12/1963 Serio 222-465 2,993,628 7/1961 Borah 222-542 X 2,751,121 6/1956 Stober 222-542 X 2,657,834 11/1953 Bacheller 222-542 X LEONARD SUMMER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 222-465, 566 

